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Table ready for Soupiset, party of five. Welcome to the annual Christmastime letter. In case you're new to the Soup family, here's the main slate of characters:
Here's
a recap of our 2003 (a.k.a. the Ten Year Anniversary Edition). January blew in like a nomad on a lion's back in a whirlwind. It was long ago you see, so we'll try and paint some pictures for your mind. Over here you can almost see Jordan playing basketball on the beautiful hardwood floors in the ages-old Cambridge Elementary gymnasium. We blinked and little Kate was turning two (we celebrated her Big Day at a shared party with fellow two-year-old Callen Vaught). And Abigail had an appropriately creative fifth birthday party at a little place called ArtWorks. Paul had his head down the whole month planning for the ADDY Freakshow... Huh? ADDY Freakshow? Sounds strange. Yes. It was. Paul's studio, Toolbox, concepted, designed and coordinated a massive, campy homage to circus oddities of the past for the San Antonio ADDY awards. We compared the ad industry to the weirdness of an early twentieth century traveling freakshow, and were able to let the local graphic arts community laugh a little at themselves and their profession. (The “Freakshow” concept extended from the Call for Entries poster to the actual awards ceremony, which featured a real-life Flame-eater, Snake handler, Stilt walker, Barker, Strong-man (and woman), plus vintage sideshow memorabilia including antique organ-grinders’ boxes and a faux big top entrance replete with working globe lights, hay bales, and guy wires.) All of this took lots of planning. Amy and the kids even pitched in and helped paint a giant backdrop for the stage show. The show went off without a hitch. Spring rolled around and things slowed down a bit. Abigail has really taken to gymnastics and in May she was able to show us her stuff at a program at Olympia Gym. She is on a special team and her hard work really shows. We're proud of her accomplishments and jealous of her flexibility. Ask her to do the splits next time you see her. Summer rolled around and thoughts of travel filled our heads and clawed at our already-tight schedules. For starters Amy and Paul headed up to Washington, D.C. with [Toolbox's] Rob and Joanne for a work conference and mini vacation all rolled into one. We were able to spend time in Georgetown and on The Mall; we happened across some old friends who were playing a gig just one metro stop from our hotel! We saw more of the Smithsonian treasures and ate at some great restaurants. Amy has blossomed as a museum-goer, so Paul finally has someone with whom he can stare at paintings, sculptures, and other random artifacts. Immediately after D.C., we took the kids to Las Vegas to see Grandpa and Shelley. It was a great mini-vacation, and Paul and Amy even got to spend a 'date night' at Paris Las Vegas celebrating our TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY! . Fun. Highlights included the M&M's store and watching the kids play in the pool. What else? On June 18 the San Antonio Spurs celebrated their World Championship by throwing a river parade which just happened to float right in front of Toolbox Studios. We had a good time trading waves with some of the nation's best-known athletes. Moving on. July 4th weekend. We loaded up the family for a King Family Reunion (Amy's paternal grandmother's side of the family) on Lake Erie -- Bay Village, Ohio specifically. Bruce and Kathy Carbonari opened their house to dozens of relatives for 5 glorious days on the lake. We were pampered each evening with a themed meal under a huge canvas tent, thankful for a wonderful time of reconnecting with new and old family members. Syler and Heidi along with Kaila (5 1/2), Ellie (3 1/2) and Foster (1 year) drove from Chicago to be there. Once there, we all welcomed cousin Avery Jane Kisner into the King Family. The beach house was a lovely backdrop for all the fun we had in the water.Kaila trusted Aunt Amy to take her for her first jet ski ride. Paul took Jordan for his first kayak ride as well. We all were able to explore the coastline. Jordan received helpful tips on his baseball swing from Grandpa and Uncle Syler. And we all enjoyed the most spectacular fireworks display -- from the bonfire down on the beach we were able to see between five and ten different sets of fireworks displays along the coastline (claims vary). Oh, and Cleveland rocks. Ventured into downtown only once to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on the morning of July 4. (Turns out our host serves on the board of directors for the Rock Hall, and tickets flowed freely.) The U2 retrospective was showing there so Paul and Syler were in heaven. Later in the month Amy went on her yearly Chicago trip to the Pampered Chef national convention in July as well, so she escaped a lot of the Texas heat this summer. On a Friday in August, Amy told Paul to pack clothes, art supplies, journals, books, and a laptop so he'd be ready for a surprise trip. She was sending Paul out of town for the weekend — Amy had been secretly preparing a personal retreat for Paul and had already taken care of all the details. Paul continues here in his own words: "....I was handed an itinerary, driving directions, and a sealed envelope that I was to "hand over to the person behind the counter" once I arrived at my destination, but that's all I knew when I pulled out of my driveway in San Antonio. ... I motored north on IH-35 and an hour and a half later ended up in Austin's eclectic SOCO district — named for South Congress Avenue — which boasts an blend of art galleries, colorful antique dealers, hip restaurants and live music venues like the fabled Continental Club. I took a left into the parking lot at Jo's coffee shop and found myself outside a restyled vintage motor court (Hotel San José). ....I set down my satchel and travel bags, and stood there, reveling in the quiet and freedom of the moment.... I intended to be thoughtful about my use of time. I [was able to create] an artistic/spiritual retreat for myself..." (for the rest of Paul's retreat story, click here). Abigail started Kindergarten in September. Hard to believe, but true. And Abi's got a wonderful teacher at Howard -- Alamo Heights ISD's kinder-only campus -- and she really underwent an amazing transformation of character this month; school suits her well -- Abi grew in patience and maturity and has become a great friend to little Kate who looks forward to Jordan and Abi coming back from school every day. Jordan's autumn soccer season was truncated this year when he broke his little finger during a hardscrabble football free-for-all at recess one day. Paul and Jordan got to make our family's first trip to take a kid to an E.R. We've been blessed with good health, and Jordan's finger healed up just fine. By November he was back to his normal, wired up self. The long Thanksgiving weekend coincided with Granny Ruth Syler's 85th birthday, so we had a wonderful time with Syler, Heidi and their kids in Austin at Sue and Tom's house. We had a great evening of expressing our love for Granny Ruth and kept with Austin's tradition as a place for live music and had all the kids put on a 'marching band' parade around the house and down the street with tambourines, shakers, an old trumpet, maracas, wood blocks and a washboard. It's a great thing to watch, and every family should have the joy of watching their kids march down the street making a joyful noise. Then on Thanksgiving Day we headed to a farm owned by some friends of Sue and Tom, where we experienced firshand a big grassfire. The fire consumed acres of grass and scrub in a short time, and we spent a surreal afternoon watching pickups with phrases like "Tri-County VFD" and "Five Points Fire Dept" roll up and try their best to snuff the fire that was aided by the windiest day I could remember. It all turned out well, and everything got under control by nightfall. During the fall, Paul had the unique opportunity to help one of his good friends with the creative side of starting a new restaurant (here's a plug: go eat at orderup, located in Lincoln Heights shopping center next time you're in the '09 zip code. It opens in mid January, 2004). Paul's been dreaming up restaurant concepts and sketching floorplans for years, so being asked for input was really a dream come true. December has rolled around and we're looking forward to a new year. Christmas was a little hurried this year, and we look forward to setting aside more time to contemplete the Advent of the Christ child next year. Kate can pronounce "Befflehem" very well for a 2 year old, by the way. We were able to have a last minute Christmas Eve family get-together at our house, when my niece fell ill. We had 22 hours to prepare for 22 houseguests. I'm glad we had been doing a lot of cleaning and orgainizing that week. Whew. So the year's over. And you made it through our year with us. Thanks. Here's wishing you and your family a warm, prosperous 2004. Love, Paul,
Amy & The kids.
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